Tag: Erik McCoy

Saints coach Darren Rizzi shares update on Erik McCoy injury

Darren Rizzi shared an update on Monday regarding the status of center Erik McCoy, who exited Sunday’s game with an injury:

Darren Rizzi provided an update on Monday regarding the status of center Erik McCoy, who went down during the Saints’ 35-14 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday with a groin injury.

It was his first game back after missing seven games due to the same injury, but he re-aggravated it here.

Ahead of the bye week on the horizon, Rizzi indicated that McCoy “went through a bunch of tests” and that the team was using caution in this situation.

He noted it was a positive thing that the Saints had a bye week to rest up, but made it clear McCoy would be fine regardless.

The importance of McCoy is not to be underestimated when it comes to keeping veteran quarterback Derek Carr upright, and that’s something the quarterback paid respect to in the week leading up to the game when he met with the media.

“He can fix problems on the fly, things no one will ever see, no one will ever know, handling the un-scouted looks and then winning his matchups,” Carr said. “For a QB, it’s nice when he’s there, because you know exactly what you’re getting.”

Expect McCoy to be back in the fold at full capacity when the Saints continue the 2024 schedule against the Los Angeles Rams. Kickoff is set for 3:05 p.m. CT in the Caesars Superdome on Dec. 1.

Saints announce inactive players for Week 11 game vs. Browns

Erik McCoy is active, but the Saints still aren’t fully healthy on the offensive line. Here’s the full list of inactive players in Week 11.

One name you won’t see on the New Orleans Saints list of inactive players is Erik McCoy. The center was activated from injured reserve on Saturday. That was merely a formality. It was known McCoy would play from the time the Saints waived Connor McGovern.

Unfortunately, the Saints still aren’t at full strength in the interior offensive line. Lucas Patrick remains out with an ankle injury for the second week in a row.

Kool-Aid McKinstry and Alontae Taylor will start in the secondary for the first time since New Orleans traded Marshon Lattimore to the Washington Commanders. McKinstry was out with a hamstring, and now the team can get a look at potentially their cornerbacks of the future.

In addition to Patrick, Jamaal Williams was also ruled out after Friday’s practice. Here is the full list of inactive players as the Saints take on the Browns in a Week 11 showdown:

New Orleans Saints inactive players:

  • G Lucas Patrick (ankle)
  • RB Jamaal Williams (groin)
  • LB Jaylan Ford
  • DT Khristian Boyd
  • WR Mason Tipton
  • S Millard Bradford
  • QB Spencer Rattler (emergency quarterback)

Cleveland Browns inactive players:

  • WR Jaelon Darden
  • RB D’Onta Foreman
  • CBH Chigozie  Anusiem
  • OT  Jedrick Wills Jr.
  • QB  Bailey Zappe (emergency quarterback)

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Saints start with their shortest injury report in weeks vs. Browns

The Saints started with their shortest injury report in weeks before Sunday’s game with the Browns. Team health is finally trending up:

This is what you want to see. The New Orleans Saints shared their shortest injury report in weeks, if not months, ahead of Week 11’s home  game with the  Cleveland Browns. Just nine players were listed this time after what’s felt like double-digit injury reports had become the norm.

And of those nine, only three didn’t practice on Wednesday. Linebacker Pete Werner (hand), guard Lucas Patrick (ankle), running back Jamaal Williams (groin) weren’t able to go, though in Werner’s case he’s said to be day-to-day with a chance to play on Sunday. So really that’s two inactives and a single starter down to start the week

Of course that doesn’t mean everything is great. The team’s two best receivers, Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed, are both on  injured reserve and might be done for the year already. But we’ll take our wins where we can find them. Interim head coach Darren Rizzi expressed optimism that starting center Erik McCoy (groin) could return from I.R. this week, and that rookie cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry (hamstring) may return to the starting lineup after missing a few games with an injury of his own. That’s progress.

As for the Browns? Their injury report is even more brief than the Saints’, with the most notable listing being wide receiver Jerry Jeudy (knee), who practiced fully on Wednesday. Health won’t be in the Saints’ favor this week,  but for possibly the first time this season it may not be actively holding them back.

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Saints’ latest roster move may mean good news for injured Pro Bowler

The New Orleans Saints announced they had waived Connor McGovern, which could mean good news is on the way for Erik McCoy:

The New Orleans Saints announced Monday they had waived Connor McGovern, which could mean good news is on the way for Erik McCoy. McGovern has been the go-to option replacing McCoy at center, and on Sunday he snapped the ball for all 53 of the Saints’ offensive plays. If he clears waivers he should be a safe bet to return on the Saints practice squad.

And McGovern, if you’ll remember, was the offensive lineman the Saints waived wide receiver A.T. Perry to make room for. He wound up logging 369 snaps across six games, five of them starts, and entirely at center.

But back to McCoy. The former Pro Bowler has been out of action with a groin injury that required surgery earlier this season, and the Saints didn’t win a game without him until Sunday’s upset of the Atlanta Falcons. When Klint Kubiak installed his offense McCoy was tasked with adjusting protection before the snap, and the team struggled badly without him.

So this move likely means he’ll be back in the middle this Sunday against the  Cleveland Browns. That gives McCoy an opportunity to get his feet back under him and take advantage of the bye week for extra rest afterwards. He hasn’t been officially activated yet after returning to practice last week, but that does seem to be the way the wind is blowing.

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Saints share some good news on Week 10 injury report update

The New Orleans Saints shared some good news on Week 10’s injury report update ahead of their game with the Atlanta Falcons:

There were two big changes to the New Orleans Saints injury report ahead of Week 10’s game with the Atlanta Falcons. Two starters on injured reserve returned to practice, one of them receiving an upgrade to full reps — safety Will Harris (hamstring). Another, center Erik  McCoy (groin), practiced on a limited basis. McCoy’s return is likely a week away or more but that’s a big step in the right direction.

Other than that, it’s more of the same. Wide receivers Chris Olave (concussion) and Cedrick Wilson Jr. (shoulder) still didn’t participate. Neither did cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry (hamstring) nor left guard Lucas Patrick (ankle). Here’s everything you need to know:

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Saints’ most important offensive starter returns after early-season injury

The Saints haven’t won a game since Erik McCoy got hurt. Their most important offensive starter returned to practice after an early-season injury:

This could be big. The New Orleans Saints haven’t won a game since Pro Bowl center Erik McCoy got hurt back in Week 3, which put him on injured reserve after undergoing groin muscle surgery. But their most important offensive starter returned to practice on Thursday, at least on a limited basis.

It’s still probably too soon for McCoy to get back into a game; his initial timeline had him returning to the lineup after the bye week. There’s a chance he could return sooner, and opening his 21-day practice window may indicate he’ll be back sooner rather than later.

Klint Kubiak installed his offense with the idea that McCoy would be responsible for reading the defense pre-snap and adjusting protection at the line of scrimmage, taking a load off Derek Carr’s shoulders so the quarterback could focus on communicating with his receivers and getting the ball out quickly. That plan had to be scrapped when the center went down with an injury, but his return (whenever it comes) could be just what they need to get the offense back on track.

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Saints designate two players to return from injury lists

Nephi Sewell and Shane Lemieux have 21 days to return to the New Orleans Saints’ active roster. What would be their role upon return?

The New Orleans Saints will be getting pieces back from injury that will add depth to the linebacker corps and offensive line very soon. New Orleans has opened the 21-day window for linebacker Nephi Sewell and offensive lineman Shane Lemieux.

Sewell’s immediate role will be on special teams upon his return from a torn ACL. Demario Davis, Willie Gay Jr., and Pete Werner will lead the charge at linebacker, but Sewell could compete with Anfernee Orji and D’Marco Jackson for reps in case of injury.

Lemieux is an interesting case. He replaced Erik McCoy in the starting lineup after McCoy’s injury versus the Eagles. Shortly after, Lemieux went to injured reserve with an ankle injury. Lemieux could return McCoy is available. If so, would the Saints turn back to Lemieux over Connor McGovern? McCoy’s availability will determine if New Orleans even has to answer that question.

These players have three weeks to be placed on the active roster, otherwise their season is over. That extends to the Saints bye week, so the latest we should see Sewell or Lemieux is Week 13 versus the Los Angeles Rams.

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The Saints had more punting yards than offensive yards against the Chargers

The Saints had more punting yards than offensive yards gained in their Week 8 loss to the Chargers. Klint Kubiak has some explaining to do:

The New Orleans Saints find themselves sitting with a 2-6 record after eight weeks, and their offense has been pretty much useless without Pro Bowl  center Erik McCoy for six of those weeks. This became an even more obvious issue in their Week 8 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers when they managed to have more total punt yards than total yards of offense during the course of the game. They ended with 366 total yards during the course of the game, which is not horrendous but not good at all either.

As for punting yards, rookie punter Matthew Hayball got 9 attempts to punt and made the most of them as he racked up 437 yards (48.6 per punt). He also put five of his punts inside the opposing 20-yard line and had only two go for a touchback in what was a pretty masterful game for the rookie punter. The Saints were averaging only 162.3 punt yards per game entering Week 8, the 22nd-most in the NFL, which shows how much of an outlier this truly is.

With all due respect to Hayball, the punter should never be the teammate having the best day, and he certainly shouldn’t be outgaining his own offense. Klint Kubiak has some explaining to do. Losing McCoy for so long has given him plenty of time to adjust but no changes have been forthcoming. He hasn’t recovered from that loss even with so many other starters and key contributors returning from injury. The clock is ticking louder as Kubiak’s offense continues to stall out. Something must change, and soon.

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Saints Pro Bowl center recovering on schedule after injury

Erik McCoy remains on schedule in his recovery from groin surgery, and the New Orleans Saints may have a target date for his return:

The expectation is New Orleans Saints Pro Bowl center Erik McCoy will be back from injured reserve no later than Week 13 versus the Los Angeles Rams and possibly earlier, per NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill. This is right on schedule for what was predicted.

The Saints offense entered an immediate spiral when McCoy went down with a groin injury against the Philadelphia Eagles. That game was a disaster for the offensive line, and it never got better. Injuries to Lucas Patrick and Cesar Ruiz only made matters worse.

New Orleans may be targeting a Week 12 return because they have a bye week prior to facing the Rams. It would essentially give McCoy two weeks of time to ramp up for the game.

That would be 10 weeks after the initial injury against the Eagles, but it would be only 8 games missed when factoring in the bye week. McCoy’s initial recovery time was 6 to 8 weeks. The bye week gives him extra cushion, but it would be right on schedule with earlier expectations.

It’s important to note McCoy remaining on schedule is a good sign he hasn’t suffered any setbacks.

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How many points have the Saints scored since their historic start?

The Saints haven’t matched their scoring output total from the first two weeks — in the last five weeks combined. Did Klint Kubiak’s offense run out of steam?

The New Orleans Saints were the best offense in football through the first two weeks. It’s no coincidence they were also undefeated in that time span. Since then, the Saints offense has sputtered.

Injuries to critical players such as Erik McCoy and Taysom Hill certainly had their impact, but Klint Kubiak’s play calling has been questionable as well. His tendency to run to the right side of the offensive line with little success has left some wondering, and the creativity seemed to run out of supply once Hill went out.

The most notable injury is quarterback Derek Carr. He was at the helm for three of the five games the Saints have lost in a row. It wouldn’t be sensible to point at his injury as a cause for the struggles. In Carr’s last 3 games, the Saints offense averaged 16.3 points with a high of 24 points against the Atlanta Falcons.

This pales in comparison to what happened at the beginning of the season. New Orleans put up back to back 40 point performances. That logically couldn’t last.

The Saints were out of this world, but they quickly came crashing down back to earth. Since scoring 91 points in the first two weeks, New Orleans has put 86 points on the board in the subsequent five weeks.

There’s a lot of places you can point the finger. At the end of the day, it just isn’t good enough. The Saints offense is a shell of who they were at the beginning of the year in multiple ways.

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